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Photograph BBC news |
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Children lay poppies in Trafalgar Square, London |
Across the world, nations remembered their war dead on Friday 11th November, Armistice Day.
The date marks the anniversary of Germany signing the Armistice agreement on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.
In the UK, the Remembrance Day ceremony was held at the Cenotaph. The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, said,
"We stand together to honour the incredible courage and sacrifice of generations of British servicemen and women who have given their lives to protect the freedoms that we enjoy today."
"We stop to say thank you. And to remember those who are no longer with us but whose sacrifice and valour will be honoured long after we are gone.
Observing Veterans Day, President Obama hosted a veterans breakfast at the White House, before laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns and speaking at a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.
Speaking at Arlington cemetry, Obama said,
“On behalf of a proud and grateful nation, we thank you.”
Urging Americans to recruit veterans, Obama stated, “They’ve earned their place among the greatest of generations.”
In Afghanistan, Philip Hammond, the new British defence secretary, laid a wreath during a service at Camp Bastion.
Hammond said,
"I regard it as critically important that we're here to show how important it is to us the sacrifice that is continuing to be made.
"[Afghanistan] is now the only place in the world where British troops are in active daily danger and lives are being lost and I think it is a way of showing the value that we at home place on the sacrifice and the dedication and the commitment that people there are showing."
Although originally intended to exclusively remember those who had died during the World War I, the day, referred to as Remembrance Day within the Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the US, is increasingly commemorated in memory of all soldiers who have died in conflicts since. Most recently, France has announced its decision to follow suit.
See Remembering for the future (Nov 2009)
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